Star-Crossed Swordmasters
by CrypticGirl
Summary: A pair of Swordmaster siblings, Karel and Karla, wind up in Eternia, smack dab in the middle of a battle between the Masters and Skeletor's forces. Whose side will they end up on?


Disclaimer: Neither He-Man nor Fire Emblem belong to me.

Chapter 1

The Swordmaster siblings, Karel and Karla, picked themselves up from the ground, trying to recover from the blinding flash that they had just witnessed. Just a moment ago, they were at the Dragon's Gate on the island of Valor, fighting against Nergal and some dragons. Now they were...outside, on some rocky terrain. None of their companions seemed to be anywhere around. And yet they could hear the sounds of combat all around them.

"This isn't the Dragon's Gate..." Karla remarked. "What just happened?"

"Hmm..." Karel looked around, surveying the scene, feeling the wind, and smelling the scents of smoke, steel, and blood. "It would seem that the battle hasn't ended yet."

"But..." Karla trailed off. Was this even the same battle they were involved in?

Before either of them could ponder any further, a large laser blast shot down towards them from above. Both siblings reacted a second too late. While they weren't hit directly, the resulting explosion threw them in opposite directions off the flat plateau they had been standing on as it was blown to bits.

Karla hit the ground hard, but quickly picked herself. As she tried to further assess the situation, she spotted a figure flying by at a fast speed. She blinked hard, as that figure seemed strangely human. A human with wings on his arms, who also seemed to leave a trail of smoke from both of his arms.

_That doesn't look like a Pegasus..._ she thought.

Instead, it was Stratos, one of the Masters.

Suddenly, another figure landed heavily on the ground nearby with a loud thud, cracking the ground beneath his feet. Karla glanced over in that direction to see a large humanoid lobster, named Clawful, outstretching and snapping its claws.

"D'aaah, I'm gonna charge ya!" he yelled out.

Karla blinked at him briefly before composing herself, deciding to take action before this creature did. She rushed at him at full speed, and when she got within attacking range, she drew her sword from its sheath, slicing him through his side as she passed. Then she pivoted behind him, throwing an overhead stroke to his head.

"Nngaaah!" the lobster creature screamed as he flew forward, crashing into another boulder, crushing it under his massive weight.

Karla brought her sword down to her side, watching and waiting as the creature picked itself up. Given its size and its tough outer shell, she hadn't counted on it being knocked out with one stroke as she was used to doing. As she watched, she pondered some more. She definitely hadn't fought anything like this on Elibe. Even Nergal's Morphs had a human appearance, even though they were far from human. At this point, Karla was certain that they were no longer in Elibe. And what had happened to the other companions she and Karel had fought with?

Meanwhile, Karel picked himself up after the explosion that knocked him off the higher ground, immediately drawing his sword. He looked around; there was obviously a battle going on. He couldn't tell who was fighting whom, and frankly, he didn't care. All that mattered was jumping into the fray to satisfy his appetite.

_It's a shame to miss the feast_, he thought. _At least there's still time for leftovers..._

He glanced over to his left; there was a large, muscular man with a flat-topped silver helmet rushing towards him. Instantly taking this as aggression, Karel rushed towards him in kind. The man, called Ram-Man wavered upon realizing that this swordsman didn't appear to be one of the followers of Skeletor, their arch nemesis. He tried to come to a halt, but Karel leaped over him, throwing a swift but powerful stroke to the back of Ram-Man's head, knocking him out instantly.

Karel sighed, disappointed with the lack of fight.

"Impressive!" a voice called from above him.

Karel looked up at the owner of the voice, a dark cloaked figure who seemed to have a skull face, riding on a strange flying machine. Such an appearance would strike fear into the hearts of most people, but Karel knew no such fear. Instead, he stared at the cloaked figure, gripping his sword, ready and itching for another fight.

The cloaked figure Skeletor, in turn, immediately took interested in the Swordmaster. If he was able to knock out one of the Masters in one strike, he must be incredibly strong. Such strength would serve him well. If Skeletor could recruit the Swordmaster, it could turn the tide in his favor. It would be a welcome change over all of the incompetent fools currently serving him.

Skeletor addressed the Swordmaster again. "Your name. _Out with it!_"

Unphased by the short temper, Karel dropped his name simply. "Karel."

"I am Skeletor, Overlord of Evil!" the figure announced proudly. "I could use someone with your skills. Come with me; I have a little proposition for you."

It sounded more like a warning than a request. However, Karel couldn't care less. The idea of being pulled from a battle didn't sit well with him.

"All I seek is to hone my blade," Karel told him. "I seek challenging battles to satisfy its appetite."

"And you will have your battles," Skeletor grinned. It was mostly a half-truth. There would certainly be fighting, at least until he conquered Eternia once and for all. But not all tasks he would assign would involve fighting. But he'd say what he'd need to in order to recruit this man. "Come with me, and your blade will be...most delighted."

It also didn't escape Skeletor's notice that the swordsman seemed to refer to his blade as a separate being. It made him curious if there was anything special about it, if it harbored some sort of power or something. All the more reason to recruit the swordsman in his ranks.

Regardless, Karel was not one to pass up an opportunity to fight. The promise was good enough for him. And if Skeletor didn't follow through, then Karel would make his own battles. "Very well."

Skeletor grinned again, a red glow flaring in his empty eye sockets. "Excellent..."

Meanwhile, Karla was still facing Clawful. The large lobster man swung his giant claw at her at a rather surprising speed. Karla managed to dodge most of his blows, while blocking every other attack with her sword. After ducking another horizontal swing, Karla attempt to leap over the creature. She was caught by surprise when the giant claw suddenly clamped hard on her ankle, swinging her mercilessly into a boulder. The girl dropped to the ground, where she lay in an unconscious heap.

Clawful laughed triumphantly, snapping his pinchers again. He began to advance, not quite done with her...when suddenly, a muscular man with blond hair landed next to him, throwing a hard punch to his face. Clawful was sent flying a good distance away, where he crashed roughly on the hard ground.

"Don't you know that it's rude to hit a lady?" the blond warrior taunted.

Clawful slowly got to his feet. "D'aaah, it's He-Man!" he exclaimed.

Skeletor decided that it would be best to pull out for now, and work out a new plan involving his new ally. "Return!"

He beckoned Karel to climb onto the flying machine with him, and Karel agreed. The rest of Skeletor's followers began to retreat, jumping onto their own machines, or onto flying griffins to escape. He-Man watched them all until they were out of sight.

_They gave up too easily_, he thought.

One of the remaining fighters extended his long, mechanical neck, zooming in on Skeletor's vehicle, noting the man he shared it with.

"It looks like Skeletor's found himself a new ally," he remarked.

Meanwhile, He-Man looked down at the unconscious girl on the ground. She didn't look like anyone who resided in Eternia. She had long black hair and wore a white gown with a blue sash around her waist. She also had the sheath around her waist, and her sword on the ground nearby suggested that she was a swordfighter. But where did she come from?

Still, he couldn't leave her like this. He picked up her sword and slipped it back into the sheath around her waist, confirming that it really was hers. He then picked her up from the ground, carrying her bridal style as he went to regroup with his friends.

"Stay alert, everyone," he warned them. "They will attack again, especially after giving up this early."

"Indeed," Man-At-Arms agreed. "But He-Man, who is this girl?"

"I...don't know," He-Man admitted. "She was fighting one of Skeletor's warriors, but was injured. I need you all to take care of her."

"Of course." Man-At-Arms took the girl from He-Man's arms.

"Uh..." The man with the cybernetic neck, named Mekaneck, immediately noticed the resemblance between this girl and the man who had retreated with Skeletor.

Before he could say anything, however, He-Man was gone, and Man-At-Arms addressed the others again.

"Let's head back."


End file.
